1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to data communication using an imaging device and a communication device.
2. Related Background Art
In recent years, a portable radio communication device having a telephone function has spread due to the progress of semiconductor technology and the like, and every person has come to own the portable radio communication device. Accordingly, communication using a telephone is changing form a Call to Number to a Call to Person. Many of the portable radio communication devices have realized an E-mail function and a simple Web browser function in addition to voice call.
Therefore, an imaging function of an image and its communication function are considered to be more important when taking into consideration that the communication capability of a next generation portable radio communication device is improved.
Further, transmission of image data shot by a digital camera via the portable radio communication device has been on trial, and its practicability has further improved due to the improvement of communication speed and the high image quality of the digital camera.
In fact, the performance of the digital camera has significantly improved in recent years, and an image can be shot with the image quality similar to that of a silver halide camera (a camera using a silver halide film) if the image is printed in a so-called L-size. Accordingly, the data communication by using the digital camera and the portable radio communication device is far more efficient than the case where the silver halide camera is used to shoot the image, development and printing are performed in a photofinishing laboratory, and the image obtained in this manner is read out by a scanner to make the image to be digital data and transferred, considering time and work required.
In addition, as described above, performing the image communication using the digital camera and the portable radio communication device meets the direction of a contemporary society that is the diversity and a multimedia of communication demand.
However, the foregoing data communication system only transmits/receives the image data by communication between devices in the case of transmission and receiving between the digital camera and the portable radio communication device and network communication between the portable radio communication devices, and the portable radio communication device could not search the image data stored in the digital camera and display searched image data on the portable radio communication device.